    Patent Document 1: JP-A 2002-255656    Patent Document 2: JP-A H08-12323    Patent Document 3: JP-A 2005-263590
Ceramics are formed by ionic bonds or covalent bonds between metal elements and nonmetal elements. Thanks to this, there are many types of compounds, and ceramics are essentially excellent in heat resistance and corrosion resistance. Further, the most notable characteristics of ceramics is to be able to have various functions such as electric, technical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, thermal, biochemical, and atomic power-related functions. Accordingly, ceramics are utilized as materials widely for insulating substrates, electronic conduction, ionic conduction, superconduction, dielectric function, piezoelectric function, CMP slurry and the like.
Ceramic-structure members have been formed and calcined wherein their calcination temperature is high. Reducing calcination temperature leads to achieving energy saving, and is also important from various viewpoints regarding cost such as management of furnaces.
With respect to the reduction of calcination temperature, it is known that ceramic nanoparticles are excellent in low-temperature sintering (JP-A 2002-255656/Patent Document 1). Generally, ceramic particles are obtained by hydrolyzing alkoxide- or metal salt-based ceramic materials, but a common method of forming ceramics cannot be applied to ceramic nanoparticles because of their strong cohesion. As an actual method of obtaining ceramic nanoparticles, therefore, there are a method of feeding a ceramic material and water under high-speed rotational shearing and stirring (JP-A H08-12323/Patent Document 2), and a method of regulating a hydrolysis rate by adding ethylene glycol and/or diethylene glycol to an aqueous solution of a rapidly hydrolyzing ceramic material (JP-A 2005-263590/Patent Document 3).
However, in the method of feeding a ceramic material and water under high-speed rotational shearing and stirring, coarse particles of ceramics may be generated, and in the method of regulating a hydrolysis rate, the particle size distribution can be made uniform and monodisperse, but a long reaction time is necessary.